Veronika Vermeulen, owner of Aroha New Zealand Tours
“The country’s $40 billion tourism industry is grateful for the Government’s support. We appreciate its renewed focus on tourism’s recovery and its desire to transition to a more sustainable footing. However, many of the smaller, family-owned businesses now urgently need operational support if they are to actually survive into 2022 and beyond,” says Veronika Vermeulen, owner of Aroha New Zealand Tours.
Small businesses are the backbone of New Zealand and, she says, the same applies to tourism. Hundreds of guides, for example, connect overseas visitors with New Zealand’s culture and landscapes as key ambassadors. Many, however, have been forced into other work with no clear pathway back to tourism meaning a big loss of experience and knowledge.
Press Release – Aroha NZ Tours
If a more authentic New Zealand experience and sustainable tourism model is to be realised, Budget 2021 needs to ensure small to medium sized tourism operators will still be around when the borders reopen, says a leading Kiwi tourism entrepreneur.
If a more authentic New Zealand experience and sustainable tourism model is to be realised, Budget 2021 needs to ensure small to medium sized tourism operators will still be around when the borders reopen, says a leading Kiwi tourism entrepreneur.
Veronika Vermeulen, owner of Aroha New Zealand Tours
“The country’s $40 billion tourism industry is grateful for the Government’s support. We appreciate its renewed focus on tourism’s recovery and its desire to transition to a more sustainable footing. However, many of the smaller, family-owned businesses now urgently need operational support if they are to actually survive into 2022 and beyond,” says Veronika Vermeulen, owner of Aroha New Zealand Tou
ANDY JACKSON/STUFF/Stuff
More visitor user charges are proposed as a means to pay tourism costs met by taxpayers and ratepayers. Any further direct support should be given as loans rather than grants to share the risk between the taxpayer and the businesses involved, the report says. Roberts said $160m of the STAPP funding was locked up as potential loans for 130 previously selected businesses, most of whom received a $500,000 government grant and only planned to draw down the loan as a last resort. “That s $160m that could be spent helping the industry now.” He hoped the Government did not rule out direct assistance in the future as there were still many unknowns as the country headed into 2021, including the opening of borders.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is being advised to stop providing direct financial support to tourism businesses.. It also reveals that a suggestion to stimulate domestic tourism by phasing school holidays was rejected by Education Minister Chris Hipkins earlier this year. The briefing says greater use of user charges, targetted taxes and levies on visitors would help pay the costs of tourism. It notes that the past the private sector has been able to reap tourism benefits while ratepayers and taxpayers met infrastructure costs. Government has paid out its $400 million Tourism Recovery Package, including the Strategic Tourism Asset Protection Programme (STAPP) and waived Department of Conservation (DOC) concession fees for using conservation land.